really anxious look on her pretty face.

"Indeed I am not aware of ever having gotten hold of the wrong person.
I think you are calling on your imagination for facts, Mrs. Loring!"
Fred said angrily.

"Now, Fred, to defend myself I shall have to point to facts. Do you
forget catching hold of poor old Uncle Tom, and choking him so he
could not explain he was carrying the clothes to his wife to wash,
instead of being a thief, as you supposed? And--"

"And will I ever forget your handing me over to a policeman, for
having attempted to pick your pocket in the streetcar?" exclaimed a
bright, merry-looking girl, who entered the room during Nellie's
attempt to defend herself from Fred's accusation.

"Oh, Fan, don't, for mercy's sake, I cry quarter. Two at a time is
more than I can stand. And besides, I had hoped that you would not
have exposed that miserable mistake!" Fred said, with a reproachful
look.

"I intended to keep the secret. But really, Fred, I've been almost
dying to have a good laugh with Nellie over it. And to-night the
opportunity was too tempting to resist."

"Mercy, Fan! If you tell Nellie, I'll never hear the last of it."

"Oh, I must. It is too late to recede. Nellie will imagine it worse,
if possible, than it really is. But I'll not prolong your agony. I'll
be as brief as possible," said Fannie.